Railway car door fixture



Feb. 13, 1934. A. E. SMALL RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Filed May 26, 1933 4 ii 2: a: n: ii w i -S* 4 Sheets-Sheet l Znvenzor Feb. 13, SMALL 1,946,550

RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Filed May 26, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet '2 I I l O O LL) [3 l6 a O 0 I O 4 '7 /8 f 250 Arthfi i'fsnlz I Ail 2:22

Filed May 26, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 1 1 0611 2501 .lz'h ur 575111271] Feb. 13, 1934. A, E. SMALL RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Filed May 26, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Znvenor Art/1 ur E Small M A ar Patented F eb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Arthur E. Small, Michigan City, Ind., assignor to Railway" Metal Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application May26, 1933. Serial No. 673,014

8 Claims.

The inventionrelates to railway freight cars and'more particularly to side doors for such cars. Side doors of railway freight cars are generally arranged to slide horizontally to open or close-the door opening andanti-friction rollers are provided between the door and the supporting element to reducetheeffort required-to move the door. The inertia of such a door caused by the sudden stopping or starting of the car bangs or slams it against'the front or back stop causing damage to the car and the door and resulting in a leaky car. Even if the dooris locked such inertia causes considerable strain upon the locking mechanism. An object of my invention is to transfer the weight of the 'door from the anti-friction rollers to'rigid supports so that the tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the track will be resisted by the friction between such rigid part of the door and the supports, thereby retaining the door-in a predetermined position. It is desirable to retain the door in a closed position or in fullopen position. However, myarrangement can be varied to retain the door in any position therebetween. The increased weight of the doors caused by the metallic reinforcements used thereon and the use of all steel doors hasincreased thexnecessity for such an arrangement.

Another object of the invention-is to provide a construction'wherein the inertia of the door, due to the'movement of the car, is transferred from the locking or holding mechanism to supports rigidly attached to the car.

Another "object of the invention is to provide a track having a smooth tread for engagementwith the door supporting rollers by positioning the means for raising the door oh the rollers out of the path of engagement of such rollers'with'the tread. Another object is to provide a relatively large area of frictional contact between the door and the rigid support mounted on the car to resist the inertia tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the car (which reduces the wear of the engaging surfaces) and at the same time providing, means to engage the door with the anti.- friction rollers Withoutdragging the door over the length of the frictional contact area.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a typical railway car door provided with my improved door fixtures with the door in different positions.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are enlargements showing the relative position of the fixtures when the door is in diiferent positions.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are cross sections of the door and car with the door in different positions.

Fig. 10 shows a modified'construction.

In the form of my invention illustrated a plurality of brackets 1, 2, 3., 4, 5 andfi mounted upon the car are provided with a plurality of rollers 7, 8, 9 and 10 normally supporting a horizontally movable door and members 15 and 16 are secured'to the door so as to move therewith without interference with the. primary supporting rollers. Rigidsupports 17, 18 and 19 are fixed. to the car. Certainof the brackets are provided with secondary rollers 11, 12, 13 and 14 which are preferably concentric with the primary rollers and also preferably integral therewith.

The'secondary rollers 11, 12, 13 and 14 are located in close proximity to the members 15*16 when the members are resting upon thesupports 17, 18 or is and theupper surfaces 20 0f the secondary rollers are a little higher than the engaging surfaces 21 between the supports and the members so that upon aslight move ment of the door the members 15-46 engage and are slightly elevated by the secondary roll-' ers and simultaneously the members are elevatedout of contact with the supports, thereby breaking their frictionalengagement. The door then freely-moves-upon the secondary rollers for the length of the members whereuponthe door drops into engagement with the primary rollers.

When the door is restingupon the primary rollers, and the reverse movement takes place,- the members engage and are raised by the secondary rollers. The door then freely movesupon thesecondary rollers for the length of' the members whereupon the door drops into (frictional) engagement with the supports; However, the door does not drop sufficiently for the door to engage the primary rollers.

When the door is resting uponthe primary rollers 7, 8, 9 and 10 it may be freely moved back and forth from open to closed position or vice versa with very little effort but when the door is resting upon the supports '17, 18, 19 there is frictional contact between the door and thesupport which resists the tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the car due to the shocks causedby the sudden-stopping or starting of the car.

Fig; 1 shows the door in' closed position with themembers l516 resting upon the rigid supports 1718. Fig. 4 is an enlargement showing the relation of the support 18, the member 16 on the door, the primary (9) and secondary (13) rollers. Fig. 9 is a'section on line 9--9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 2 shows the door initially opened wherein :he' members 15-16 have moved into engagement with the secondaryrollers 1113 and out of engagement with the supports 17+18. Fig. 5 is. anenlargement showing the relation of the support 18, the member lfi'and the primary (9) and secondary (13) rollers'when the'door is in this position; Fig.8 is a section on line -8'-'8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '3 shows'the door'in engagement with the primary rollerst, 9 and 10; i. e., in a position 120 to be moved from open to closed position, without much exertion. The members 15-16 are out of engagement with the secondary rollers and as there is no secondary roller in the intermediate brackets (2-5) the door will roll freely upon the primary rollers until the members 15 and 16 engage the secondary rollers 1214. In full open position the members 15 and 16 will rest upon the supports 18 and 19. Fig. 6 is an enlargement showing therelation of the member 16, support 18 and primary (9) and secondary (13) rollers. Fig. '7 is a section on line '7'7 of Fig. 6. i

In Figs. '7, 8 and 9 the usual parts of the car are shown, such as side sill 2%; floor 25; floor support 26 and threshold plate 27.

If the door is very large and heavy some manual means of initially opening or closing the door may be necessary, and for this purpose I have shown the lever 30 pivotally (31) attached to the door which engages one side of the pintle 32 to initially open the door and the other side to close the door. A similar pintle (33) may be used upon bracket 5. However, any power mechanism may be usedv as far as this invention is concerned. Y 7

Fig. 10 shows a modified construction wherein the elements of the invention are rearranged by providing two members -41 adjacent the rear edge of the door and eliminating one bracket (4 in Fig.1) on the car body. Various arrangements of the members on the door and the brackets on the car are possible under my invention. In this arrangement when the member 40 is moved to the rightin Fig. 10 it rides over the adjacent roller and then comes into frictional contact with the bracketid and thus retains the door in a partially open position for ventilating the car. Such ventilation is desirable and even essential in certain seasons when some vegetables and fruits are being hauled in the car.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described,as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: I I

1. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, members secured to the door out of the path of engagement of the rollers with the door, secondary rollers mounted in certain of said brackets positioned to be engaged by said members upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so; as to raise said door out of engagement with the rollers, and supports positioned so that upon further movement of the door the members engage said supports so as to support the door independently of the aforesaid rollers whereby movement of the door is frictionally resisted.

2. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable'door, members secured to the door out of the path of engagement of the rollers with the door, secondary rollers integral with certain of said rollers positioned to be engaged by said members upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so as to raise said door out of engagement with the rollers, and supports positioned so that upon further movement of the door the members engage said supports so as to support the door independently of the aforesaid rollers whereby movement of the door is frictionally resisted.

3. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, members secured to the door out of the path of engagement of the rollers with the door, secondary rollers mounted in certain of said brackets positioned to be engaged by said members upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so as to raise said door out of engagement with the rollers, and supports positioned so that upon further movement of the door the members drop into engagement with,

the supports so as to support the door independently of the aforesaid rollers whereby movement of the door is frictionally resisted.

4. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, members secured to the door out of the path of engagement of the rollers with the door, secondary rollers mounted in certain of said brackets positioned to be engaged by said mem-' bers upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so as to raise said door out of engagement with the rollers, and supports positioned so that upon further movement of the door the members engage said supports so as to sup-, port the door independently of the aforesaid rollers whereby movement of the door is frictionally resisted, said elements so arranged that whenthe members are in supporting engagement with the supports, said members are in close proximity to the secondary rollers so that with very little movement of the door the members are raised by the secondary rollers out of engagement with the supports.

5. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, means to raise the door out of engagement with the rollers, and other means to support the door independently of the rollers and independently of the first mentioned means upon further movement of the door.

6. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a primary roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, some of said brackets each provided with a secondary roller, a member secured to the door, and a support mounted upon the car, said elements associated and arranged so that upon initial movement of the door said member engages one of the secondary rollers and raises the door out of engagement with the primary rollers and so that upon further movement of the door, said member moves out of engagement with the secondary roller and drops into engagement with the support whereby the door is supported by the support independently of any of said rollers.

7. In a railway car, a plurality of brackets mounted upon the car, each provided with a roller normally supporting a horizontally movable door, members secured to the door out of the path of engagement of the rollers with the door, parts mounted on the car positioned to be engaged by said members upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so as to raise saidjdoor out of engagement with the rollers, and

supports positioned so that upon further move- I1. DD

engaged by said members upon movement of the door to a predetermined position so as to raise said door out of engagement with the rollers, and supports positioned so that upon further movement of the door the members drop into engagement with the supports so as to support the door independently of the aforesaid rollers whereby movement of the door is frictionally resisted.

ARTHUR E. SMALL. 

